>> the deep nipping divide in the ukraine, the u.s. tells russia to pull back troops while ukrainian forces are on hay alert. >> china blames ethnic separatists for a knife attack that left 33 dead at a train station. >> my long term goal is to be

better than quinton tar jan takeno. >> hollywood's night to shine. a live look at the red carpet as stars get ready for the oscars. >> good morning to you and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live in new york city. the center stage of ukraine's crisis moved from kiev to crimea. russia is preparing for a military intervention and ukraine's interim government has started to mobilise troops and has called up reservists. diplomats met for a special session on saturday. the u.s. is calling on the u.n. to send observers. president obama called the russian vladimir putin asking

him to pull back the troops but russia is not bundling. jennifer glasse has more of that storey from crimea. >> jubilation, "the russians are coming." as moscow endorsed the use of force, ethnic russians took to the streets, like ena and her family. supporting the russian flag. they are her protectors. they are just here to guarantee safety. >> beneath the statue of communist leader lenin russian and soviet military flags. the bond was close. crimea was part of the russia until 1954. they have a pro-russian prime minister, who moved to take control. >> translation: i have decided to temporarily take command of all national forces - the interior ministry, armed force,

navy. all supports take orders from me only. those with trouble, resign. >> translation: it's the first time in modern history that crimeans live under modern history. they have taken over military bases and civil institutions, that's why the crimean society is filled with fear. people are afraid of everyone and everything. >> 400 miles north in kharkiv they drag supporters from city hall and raise the russian flag. many oppose the take over of kiev. now former leader and now presidential candidate vitaly klitschko appealed for calm. >> translation: i urge everyone, no provocation, no violence, no anarchy. all who love their country have responsibility and conscience

have to show their rationism in unity. >> at the military airport a sign of things to come. men in camouflage came and damaged you cranian commitment. >> the men in uniforms have taken down military forces security and some officers. >> jennifer glasse joins us on the phone from simferepol. they are in the middle of a tense standoff with russian troops. what is happening in the standoff where you are right now. >> just about half an hour outside of simferepol at a military base, there's russian forces, 200 of them surrounding the base. the commander has been told to come to a meeting at 1 o'clock. a few dozen came to the base,

surrendering their weapons. it's a storage facility for an armoured vehicle. the russians came and told the commander to surrender his weapons. he said no. the russians brought in reinforcements. the me, heavily armed, weapons do not have bullets in them now, but they are at the ready. they are surrounding and calling for a meeting. >> how likely is it that the ukrainians will surrender? >> the commander says he will not surrender. if they come in, he'll have to fight, he has no choice in the matter. a tense situation. he thingts there's 15 -- thinks there's a truck load of russian forces on the way. him and his men, less than 2,000 men inside, we believe. they don't seem as well equipped

as the russians, who are well tooled up. they have a lot of communication. they have gun, brought in trucks, set up a camp on the edge and have the place totally surrounded. they are literally at the front gates. they have brought an armoured vehicle with a heavy machine-gun to the top of the gate. russian troops are here, trying to take a ukrainian military base. >> you said the ukrainian commander believes there are 15 truckloads of forces on the way. way do you expect to happen. it's difficult to know. he said he'll wait and see. the commanders only demand has been to turn over the base and all of his weapons. that is out of the question. they'll talk to the kin eta in half an hour and see what he has to say.

it's an extraordinary situation here. he says clearly in this is a legal, sovereign soil. they are a foreign army and he has orders to stay and defend the base. >> quickly, do we know what the meeting is about at 1 o'clock? >> it's about what the demands are from the commander, and what he wants. interestingly too, the people here are divided. some support the russian, some of the civilians from the village came to support the russians, others have been shouting saying, "we are ukrainian, you can't let these people be here. it's a sense of how divided ukraine is and the crimea is. >> jennifer glasse joining us live on the phone, 30 minutes outh of simferepol. -- outside of simferepol. thank y thank you for being was. >> the united nations held an emergency security council meeting.

james bays was there. how concerned are you? >> deeply, we need deescalation. >> ambassadors arriving for the second meeting in 24 hours. >> is your country invading camia. the russian ambassador not answering my question, but aware he'll face criticism from other members, particularly we were nations. >> cameras were allowed to film the meeting despite russian opposition ukraine's ambassador appealed to the international community. >> we call upon the security council to do everything possible now. there is still a chance. >> early this morning the russian duma acted to authorise the use of military force in ukraine. it is dangerous and destabilising. we are disturbed by reports of russian military intervention into crimea. this is without legal basis, indeed it violates russia's

commit the to protect the sovereignty. territorial integrity. >> russia's ambassador presented a different version of events, putting the blame on the e.u. for causing the crisis. >> why did this problem need to result in demonstrations? why is it that these street demonstrations need to be encouraged from abroad, by people from the e.u. >> while the security council met, president obama called president putin, a call, we are told, that lasted 90 minutes. >> what is the message from the u.s. to vladimir putin right now? >> the message is pull back your forces. let us engage in political dialogue. engage with the ukrainian government, which is reaching out to you for that dialogue. the occupation, mittry presence in crimea is a violation of

international law. >> the security council is deadlocked. this is a crisis in which russia is accused by other security council members of hostility, and yet russia has a veto and can block action. the focus of diplomatic activity will move to brussels, where n.a.t.o. and the e.u. will be meeting. >> and protests of russian aggression, the u.s. is suspended participation in this summer's g8 summit in sochi. canada recalled its ambassador to moscow. >> the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine tells al jazeera that they are worried that russia is risking an all-out war. they resort to arms, which the russians have undertaken, is a pathetic solution to a very complicated problem.

>> they should talk to each other and sort things out. it seems to me that the situation in ukraine demands the close working together of russia and the united states to avert a catastrophic world war. >> violence erupts in a standoff, ukraine's second largest city, pro-russian due to the north eastern location. dozens of pro-western ukrainians were injured after the pro-russian crowds attacked them, beginning when many were together rallying against a new government. pro-russian protesters were held in the cities of odessa. >> a russian defense analyst joins us from roscoe.

how likely is it that the russian troops will move into the rest of the country? >> is ukraine worried about losing its independence altogether? >> well, that is a serious threat, or ukraine losing part of the its territory. it was made clear by the russian authorities yesterday that not only crimea may be occupied, but eastern parts of ukraine, mostly inhabited by russian speakers. they may be taken over. it was said if there's going to be any kind of violence happening there, if the ukrainian authorities use force against pro-russian demonstrators, russia may move in as it has already moved in to

crimea. yes, we are in the situation where we can go into a broader confrontation. >> jennifer glasse is there now, 30 minutes outside. the ukrainian military base has been taken over. the russians demand that they take over. in situations like this, and what is happening now in crimea, how long can the stand off continue. >> both sides are trying to avoid making shots and anger. it was a side that begins to use violence and ammunition. it will lose in the opinion obviously. so though russian troops have been deployed in crimea, some of them are marines of the black sea fleet.

they have spread out from the base. others are airborp in special forces flown in and brought in to reinforce the marines. there are ukrainian units. there were tense standoffs. up to now no one is shooting at each other. the only rosy part of this picture is that there has been no shooting yet. basically there is maybe a possibility to stand down and move out of this war-like situation. >> you call it a slim possibility. ukraine's interim government, not even 72 hours old. the big question becomes can they handle this right now. >> they have established after a revolution or a coup in kiev, they are having an act.

together the ukrainian military and security forces are in disarray. after the viktor yanukovych regime melted down. but basically ukraine has a lot of territory. a large territory, supply of weapons, and russia does not have the capability to take obvious the country. i want to go back to something you said. you said there hasn't been a shooting. can putin de-escalate that entire thing. >> for vladimir putin to back down, what obama asks to do, to pull down orp stand down -- or stand down the forces it would be hard to do that after almost

taking over the whole of crimea. it's very hard for vladimir putin to stand down right now. >> what is wrong with diplomacy? >> as i said we can't take over the entire ukraine. the president government in kiev may be week, but they'll have time to put together their act, if russia takes part of ukraine and then stops, the new ukrainian government will gather volunteers, they are doing that. they'll mobilise, and then they can maybe hit back. so they are right now seen as week, rallying international opinion behind them, and i don't believe that this crisis can be resolved swiftly. it is a very serious crisis, the worst since the russian troops went to afghanistan in "79, and

there's no clear way out of the situation. we can only hope that it will not get worse and into a full-blown war won't develop from what we have right now. >> thank you. russian defense analysts joining us from moscow. >> violence is surging in venezuela after anti-government protesters swarmed the troops demanding nicolas maduro resign. students called for protests today. al jazeera's paul beban has the story from caracas. >> this is how things look about two weeks ago in venezuela. peaceful protests as students took to the streets to complain about inflation, shortages of consumer groups and soaring crime. >> inflation is running at 56%

and growing. which means the prices are sky rocketing. there are shortages across the country. the crime rate is out of control. the homicide rate is out of control. it increased 400% in of the past 15 years. somewhere around 18 times the homicide rates in the united states. >> when the students called for his ouster president nicolas maduro cracked down, throwing hundreds of protesters in prison, cranking up tension and violence. >> that's why it shifted from protests about what a mess the deposit was, the economy was to protests about government repress. >> nicolas maduro accuses the united states of trying to destabilize the country. almost exactly the same line taken by his predecessor chavez. >> he constantly campaigned against the united states.

against george bush, against condoleezza rice and me personally. >> carl was ambassador to venezuela in 2002 to 2004. in 2002 chavez was ousted in a coup blamed on the u.s. >> we didn't organise it, we didn't plan it, we weren't behind it. if we were guilty of anything it was being too happy too fast because it was af the direction the government was headed. where chavez rallies millions. nicolas maduro lacks charisma and support. >> he won the election by a little over 1%. he lost support so quickly, it's amazing. >> through his non-personality, his lack of personality. >> in spite of political

convictions, oil bound the two countries together. venezuela sits on large reserves, much processed in united states. >> they are producing and selling less to the united states. the whole situation shifted. so that it's almost as if venezuela needs the u.s. markets more than the u.s. markets need the venezuelan oil. >> so far the u.s. line is watch and wait as both countries kick out the diplomats. >> the government ought to focus on addressing legitimate grievances. >> how long the confrontation between calls for reform and brute force lasts, but for now it's plain out on the streets. >> in thailand the protesters scaled back, remaining fine in their efforts to oust the prime minister. hundreds marched in bangkok.

yingluck shinawatra called for early elections last month. they were disrupted by mass rallies. several districts are holding a revolt. >> egypt has its sixth government. they swore in a cabinet, but the new line up has ministers were the cold government. he is widely expect, abdul fatah al-sisi, to run for president, and parliamentary elections are planned for the summer. >> a 100 car pile-up in denver kills one woman, leaving hundreds injured. a tractor trailer jack-knifed, leading to a chain of collisions spanning half a kilometre. many of the drivers were travelling too fast and the highway was closed for five hours while it was cleaned up. rain pounds southern california triggering mudslides.

no injuries have been reported, but rain fall was higher in some of the mountain areas around l.a. the wet weather is expected to let up. the rain is helping. it's not enough to offset california's drought. >> good sunday morning to you i'm meteorologist eboni deon. we are taking a look at the south-west where conditions will improve. we are dealing with some rain for the start of the day. we are seeing scattered rain showers around southern arse of california, as we head into the afternoon, the rain is wrapping up, wiping down. the same storm systems that brought the rain is on the move and pressing off to the east, providing lift and moisture to trigger more rain across the southern plains. enter the midwest. we'll show you scenes around chicago. it's been the snow and bitterly cold temperatures.

things are still and you'll need to bundle up as you make your wait out and about. temperatures running well below average. as we head out else sh we are -- elsewhere we are watching for the snow and ice which conditions. we are dealing with ice storm warnings in place. we could see quarter to half an inch of isles. placing blame. china points the finger at a separatist group behind a deadly attack at a station. >> your parents take care of you, when our older you return the culture. >> how many asian americans are accommodating the promises made to their aging parents. >> "12 years a slave" has become a breakout at the box office. in the u.k. we show you why so many black film makers are feeling boxed in.

>> good morning, welcome back to

al jazeera america. 10 men armed with knives unleashed a bloody scene of terror. slashing 29 victims, killing them all. four attacksers were killed, 143 people were wounded. state media say they are ethnics from the west. the footage contains graphic material. >> as police continue to look for anyone else connected with the attack, people in china are coming to terms with the scale and horror of the attack of the the gang started to attack passengers at random sending crowds fleeing in panic. thousands of internet users have been expressing outrage on social media and uploading imges of security around the stages in the aftermath of the attack. authorities promised a swiss response, saying that those responsible will be brought to

justice. the attack comes at a sensitive time in china, in the run-up to the national people's congress gathering in beijing. the authorities have been quick to control information about the attack, restricting reporting of the event to the official version issued by the country's state-run newsagency. >> chinese state media reports that two of those attackers were women. >> a political power play. israel's prime minister is expected to push president obama for more sanctions against iran. >> i'm mark morgan, one of college basketball's elite teams does something that hasn't been accomplished in a decade.

>> good morning to you. welcome back i'm morgan radford. 10 men armed with knives stabbed 29 people to death at a train station in south-west china, police killed four attacksers, another arrested and they are searching for the others. egypt's interim president swore in a new government. there are new ministers but abdul fatah al-sisi is still a minister. he's expected to run for president. >> an appeal from president obama to vladimir putin, but his plea to pull back troops fell on deaf ears. russia is appearing to get ready for a military intervention. the country's acting president, moments ago, closed ukrainian air space to non-civilian aircraft. more from moscow. >> tas waiting game -- it is a

waiting game. vladimir putin has a mandate from the upper house of parliament to use military support if he so doors. will he use that mandate or does he feel that the threat of military force is enough for russia to reassert its influence in ukraine. overnight the phone lines were absolutely humming here with high level conversations. vladimir putin spoke to barack obama, he spoke to bangui moop, the secretary-general of the united nations and spoke to the french president francis hollan hollande. in all the conversations he made the same points that russia was prepared to protect its citizens, fellow russians and the plaque sea fleet if violence escalates there. >> that's rory challands reporting from moscow. more on ukraine coming up at the top of the hour.

people in texas are heading to the polls for the primary elections on tuesday. one candidate is sure to stig out. wennedie davis became a household name when she filibustered on behalf of abortion rights. we look at the candidate some call a democratic secret wopon. >> wennedie davis staged an 11th hour filibuster, her activities sparking a manoeuvre to men and women. >> you have inspired every member in the senate democratic caucus. >> riding the momentum davis threw her hat into the ring to become governor. >> i'm proud to announce my candidacy to be the 4th governor. >> she has gotten attention nationwide, 27% of funds coming from outside of texas.

some political strategists say it may not be enough. >> call explains the democratic hopes of turning the state purple. any time soon is wishful thinking. the problem is that texas is a conservative state even if it is headed to the democratic state. >> running on a personal story of struggle davis advocates for policies. >> by the time i was 19 i was on my way to divorce. >> presume republican opponent attacked davis's hard-luck story. >> she was portrayed as a flip flopper. >> wendy davis changed on a lot of issues. >> the davis campaign hit back.

president obama called barack obama among rel, and admitted to having sex with underaged girls. >> it bothered me the partnership. >> davis raised more money than abbott. her $11 million can't compeel with abbott's $30 million war chest, and he continues to beat davis in the polls. a poll puts abbott 11 pounts ahead of davis. >> greg abbott will beat wendy days by high single digits. competitive democrats have lost by 12 po 16 points -- 12 to 16 point. when davis is likely to lose by 7, 8 or 9, she is running more competitively. >> all of you deserve to have your voices heard. >> democrats appreciate supporting a candidate they see as having a fighting chance in a state that hasn't a democrat

such as an-richards. >> photo id laws will be put to the test. the first will be in this upcoming vote. voters will have to show voter ids. critics believe the laws are designed to discriminate. the election plated for march 4th, picture id laws. arkansas, mississippi, okay la home, rhode island and virginia are affected. >> up north for the first time in 20 years a gay rights group could be part of a boston state parade. many are welcome to march only if there's no reference to group sexual orientation. they considered allowing the gay group to march after a boycott was threatened.

the new mayor and council are boycotting its parade due to the banning of gay troops. >> a political gathering involves a powerful israeli lobbying group. some are revening how powerful the group really is. >> when the american israel public affairs committee or apec is called hosts the meeting in washington. they want attention. they are to welcome 14,000 supporters. it is a must-attend event. their power is feared by many. >> in 2013, they spent $3 million, not including grass roots effort at the state level or involving a mail drive. that's trying to influence members of congress and the executive branch. >> apex members will fan out over the capital to lobby congress and will expect to accomplish what their lobby

failed to do - get enough support for an increase in economic sanctions op iran and set the terms for final agreement. the more liberal leaning j street believes it exposed a weakness for apec. >> they win the battles when the american jews agree with them. when they go out against the views of the people, they lose. a perfect example is what happened with syria. >> apec pushed hard to get congress and failed. then again failure on iran. >> in a recent oped leadership stressed they are not giving up. it must include the desmantling of a nuclear program so iran has neither a you rain youm or nuclear pathway. binyamin netanyahu, in private,

will try to change president obama's mind and reassure the men base that they are a -- american base that they are a force to be reckoned with. >> israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu meets with president obama at the white house on monday before giving the convention key note address on tuesday. >> a growing number of children become parents home carers as they age. we have a report on balancing consumer expectations to modern reality. >> on a weekend there's work. looking after children, husband and 69-year-old mother who suffers diabetes and deaf posseness. together with a weekday job, she has a full plate. >> sometimes i get home at 2am, i go back to sleep at 5:45 and prepare ready to go to work. it's a lot of pressure.

>> three generations living under the same roof. it's a typical arrangement for chinese families, rooted in confucius philosophies endures. >> there's a thing which is like your parents take care of you so when you are older you return the fair -- favour as a way of thinking. >> maintaining the cultural mandate is more difficult for families where both partners work full-time jobs. on weekdays true sends her mother to a seniors center. something resisted because it's seen as a sign of failure. >> i think to my own grandparents. they were private, close to the family and to look to a community organization to help and supplement that was something they had to get used

to. >> according to the department of health and human services the number of employederly asians is expected -- elderly airports is expected to grow. as soon as more asians age some nursing homes and care centres are tailoring the centres to language and cultural needs offering a bilingual staff. and for some, food they are familiar with. that made the difference to 90-year-old, who would not otherwise have moved from whom. >> translation: there is 24 hour service here. at home the family would have to hire two nurses to take care of me. i don't want to be a burden. >> participants play mahjong a popular game at one of the earliest senior centres built for chinese americans in the country. one small move to reassure those

reluctant to spend time here. as places like they say become available it allows the younger generation to feel they can honour and care for their elders in a different way outside their homes. >> coming up in the next hour we'll show you how other communities were deal with the hardships of aiming. they are showing solutions by banding together. >> good morning we are watching the storm system gathering itself across the middle of the company. that's where we lost the bulk of the wintry weather. it will compete in the east, bringing snow to the mid-atlantic. here is a look at the area of low pressure. it is now meeting up with the cold front. we have a lot of moisture

lifting up out of the custodial of mexico. with the colder air in place, we have ice storm warpings, and some areas of oklahoma. we see see a quarter upwards half an inch of ice. we need to prepare accordingly. to the north-east there will be snow. some areas get a trace of icing. the roads will be split. it does include the new york city area down to d.c. and baltimore. that's where we see some of the heaviest snow. darker shaded areas of blue. we could be talking anywhere from 8-upwards of 10 inches of snow. nonetheless it will be a messy ride in. >> international soccer federation f.i.f.a. announced it will allow the use of religious

headwear, including head scarves and tushans. the conclusion comes after a 20-month trial. it does not impose of rib of injury. the ban caused outrage. >> two of hockey's franchises matched up in an outdoor game. mark morgan is with us now. >> it's hockey the way many purists feel it's meant to be played and the way generations of cann aid yap played outside. >> this time they continued in chicago. soldier field was the site and it was a winter wonderland, over 62,000 fans bundled up as snow fell. the zamboni clearing the ice. the top shelf for the 29th goal.

they said it felt like they were playing in the backyard. pittsburg routed in the final, 5-1. >> this is likely to play outside. you play, whether it's pick up or a real game. it was - the stage was - couldn't have been better for anybody. i think that - how hard it was off the bat. it was like they were amazing conditions. everybody felt outside playing in the snow. >> regardless of what he does lebron james dons attention. he suffered a broken nose. he donned a mask. he didn't get approval for the mask, which was black. lebron james wanted it to match the uniform. i like the black mask, an x men look. i like it. the league suggested he go back to the clear one, that was the fashion switch for last night's game against orlando. and the new look hard by

affected his game. 20 points and nine boards and chipped in with seven assists. miami as a team steeps have found its mo joe. seven straight wins. let's head to campus where wicha tar state proved that the trip to the final four was not an aberration. the shockers tagging on missouri state. this one is not close. the shockers sprinting to an 18-point half-time lead. shooting 51% from the field, cruising to 68-45 win the the shockers improved 39 and 0. a win in college basketball since st. joe's turned the trick. >> the only thing left to do is win it. we've been to the championship game, and we need to win. that's the challenge that the team has now. anything short of that will be a disappointment and we have a

3-game set. you have to win the first to get to the second. >> but where we are now, 31 is god. 34 is better. >> and number one florida keeps right on rolling. 9 gaiters ripping out a view, shooting 57%. that includes 13, 3s. 79-61 the final. florida has won 21 in a row. they have made it to the elite eight and will be a tough out during march madness. >> oklahoma state is fighting for a tournament bed. they are 3 and 0 since a return from suspension. oklahoma upset kansas. smart scored 20 of 21 in the second half. the cowboys overcoming a deficit, shooting 64% from the field. the finals 72-65 osu. virginia continues to be one of the surprise teams. they beet syracuse outscoring

the orange. celebrating an amazing season on senior day in charles otsville. the cavaliers had the first out right a.c.c. title in 33 years. the orange dropped three of their last four. >> on the links, tiger woods is trying to make noise after barely making the cut at the honda classic. woods beginning the third round it 11 shots behind rory mcilroy. china charged up the board, posting seven birdies. woods jumped 49 spots. seven behind the leader entering the final round. >> finally tempers flare in the english premier league. the manager, al-alan pardew ped butting david meyler. he wassest jected and -- he was

ejected and finned $168,000. >> sydney's gay and lesbian community celebrated the mardi grass parade. more than 10,000 watched the spectacle. the australian navy band marched alongside secondly clad dancers. [ ♪ music ] >> crowds filled the streets of rio de janeiro for its mardi gras parties. around 1 million danced along the beach. it runs until ash wednesday, which is this wednesday, mamping the beginning of the season on the christian calendar. >> the art of film making. how a real class is putting the future into focus for students at a national park time

a sneak peek and a live look at the preparations for the academy award. in a few short hours fans and stars will arrive for hollywood's biggest night. ellen degernize is hosting and the favourite includes "american hustle", ""gravity," and "12 years a slave." >> a look at why black british film makers are packing up and heading overseas. first a look at where the snow and the rain will fall across the country with meteorologist eboni deon. >> i'm happy to report that things are going to clear up in time for the oscars tonight. we can see a few spotty showers in the area, but the storm system moved on. it is going to cause pig problems in the middle of the country. we have a frontal boundary pushing to the east and south. cold air in place with the added

moisture. dealing with snow, freezing rain and sleet. we have the moisture and clouds and a few spotty showers. >> this year several black actors and fip makers up for an academy. a number of them are having a tough time making it big on the other side of the atlantic. >> not lopping at all now until the oscars, will there be more sweet music for "12 years a slave." this is the big hope. >> "12 years a slave." >> it's taken two of the main prizes at the bastas. the lead actor is british and black. the film director is too. the movie the best of british. >> "12 years a slave" has done well in the u.k. and in the first five weeks alone it took 30 million. black film makers are not having a good time. black and ethnic minorities,

writers, producers, directors, making up 7.4%. the number dropped to 5.4%, many of them packing up and heading west to the united states. not necessarily because they want to but because they feel they have to. they are not going to get the brakes. >> this is the costume. case in point this prime-time tv actor, got a royal honour. it does not get bigger than that. that was the problem. he felt he couldn't get big are. he moved to the u.s. and runs an acting school. >> many of us left the u.k. and came to the u.s. and have gone into the upper echelons of whatever brand of entertainment we wish to go in. everyone born in the country makes sure that they feel they have a shot at fulfilling potential. >> steve mcqueen directed "12 years a slave" and is big news in the u.s. back home there is one question

drubbing this graduate film processor. >> at the emmys he won an award. it's not a question of why they are leaving, but stopping them. >> winning a bafta. is that it? will it be steve or just me. how do we incorporate people and integrate the talent. >> it's evident. that's the reason why we were going off to the state and winning an award and doing great things. >> actors and directors may be an inspiration. part of the issue is to find out why they are leaving in the first place. >> is it a lack of funding. >> it may bet the only way to keep the next generation at home. >> steve mcqueen gets best director for "12 years a slave," he'll be the first african american to win the award. >> teenagers spend more than

100 hours a month watching videos according to the department of health and human services. some are doing more than just watching. >> these budding film makers are learning the tools of the trade. for two weeks they put down the pencils and put on the directors' hats. this is the sip ma school. a selective public high school that specialises in film training, alongside a traditional liberal arts education. i learned most importantly how to break them. how do break the rules so that your film can be more you. and then that film needed a lot of patience. >> a virtue many pick up during a mandatory animation course. screen writing, music video, story telling are parts of the

curriculum. by graduation they have completed 200 video content. a privilege they have earnt. technical skills are part of the equation. getting into college, getting a degree. >> the real lesson here is empowerment. something that this school takes seriously. last year's senior class had a 100% graduation rate. >> you give them a piece of equipment. you are worthy of this, and you unleash into the world to create beautiful things with that. >> principal warner says those schools help them. behind the scenes, hollywood tours, celebrity guest speak exercise trips, exposing them to opportunity and optimism. >> the long-term goal is to be getter than quentin tarantino.

a lot say it's hard. i feel like i have an advantage on a lot of film makers, because i come to this school and i get to hold the camera at a young age. >> a young age, sharp focus and a bright future. here is to looking at you, kid. >> students' films are screened at lincoln center and helps them to get internships. >> at the end of the first hour here is what we are following for you. the crisis is escalating. this, while the ukraine started mobilising its troops. china is blaming a separatist group for a knife attack. 34 people, according four of the attackers were killed. egypt has the sixth new government. the interim president swore in the cabinet on sunday. >> they are monitoring a wintry

mix and severe weather. details ahead. >> i'm morgan radford, i'm back with you in 2.5 minutes when al jazeera america continues stay tuned.

a warning from the united states to russia - this as the ukraine calls its military reserves into active duty. wet in the west - california reaching saturation point as hillsides begin to slide. >> unless venezuela grab arms and learn to defend themselves, this will not end well. a call to arms for

venezuela's demonstrators. a family sits down. >> this building was built as a stable and later turned into a prison. it is over 100 years old. overcrowding, tight quarters and a lack of basic services. when the aging prison system is about to get worse. >> good morning to you. welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. ukraine's interim government started mobilising troops, calling up all of its military reservists. this sass russia's parliament approves the use of military force. president obama appealed to vladimir putin, but his plea to have russia pull out of the ukraine fell on deaf years. an emergency security council meeting was held yesterday.

since russia has veto power, any action appears unlikely. russia is calling on the u.n. to go to the city. president obama called vladimir putin to talk about a political solution, but russia is not budging. the crimea peninsula is being armed. they are patrolling the street as a full-scale russian intervention looms overhead. demonstrators have rallied in the streets, supporting russian intervention. over the capital of kiev parliament concludes an emergency session. the interim president telling supporters that the country is on the brink of disast are. tim friend is there to tell us about what happened. what is the latest there. things must be tense in the clight of what's happening in the news of moscow. >> very tense.

that secret session of parliament, because they didn't want the press there. they didn't want them to listen in to the details of the tactics is finished. parliamentarians have been sent away with the orders - don't leave down, be ready to reconvene at any time of day or fight. things are moving rapidly. the latest is that the troops are on category 1 state of alert in ukraine. reservists are called up. we are hearing about offices around the capital kiev, where me are going in and signing on and giving their contact numbers. should this conflict escalate further in the square behind me. we have been hering patriotic speeches. they have been parading the flags of western europe. that's where they want to be. kiev is not the rest of ukraine, of course, because elsewhere, as you have been saying, in crimea,

they ally themselves to moscow. that is why here in ukraine we are now engaged in an international old-fashioned style east versus west politics, power play. >> given those allegiances that you mentioned. at the same time as the parliament is preparing for the worst, it seems they are trying to avoid the conflict. is that true? >> straightly. they are trying to avoid it. what they want is a unit ukraine. whether they end up with that when all this is played out is another matter. russia very much sees it as part of its sphere of influence, and it is using crimea as the conduit through which to hang on to its influence here in ukraine. it does not consider the government here in kiev as legitimate. it thinks it grabbed power and

thinks it grabbed it with the help of european backing. president putin issued the order on saturday, or at least got the backing subsequently for his order from parliament, that russian troops could come in to ukraine and here in kiev they are asking him to rescind that order, because they say if they don't, then it's effectively a declaration of war. >> tim friend from kiev, thank you for being was. jennifer glass joins us by phone. she's about 30 minutes outside simferepol. i understand that you are still in the middle of a tense standoff. what is happening at this point. is there a meeting present. >> the meeting has taken place and the commander of the ukrainian forces.

30 minutes from the crimea capital. two hours ago several hundred russian forces came and surrounded the base. they called on the ukrainians to hand over their arms. this is home to armoured vehicles and a lot of ammunition and weapons. it's basically an armory. the commander refused to hand over his weapons, all they agreed is nobody wants to fight. nobody wants to start shooting. they ask them to raise the tur et, essentially an armored personnel carrier with a heavy weapon much it's the front gates. in the extraordinary situation russian boots on the ground in crimea facing off against ukrainian forces, trying to get the ukrainians to trender. they will not do that. there are civil was wandering around and we have seen the

divisions. some civilians are pro troops, some say it's an ougs. divisions clearly played out just here in the village. you mentioned earlier that the ukrainian commander suspected there were 15 more russian troops on the way. is that the case. >> we have not seen more reinforcements. there were a lot. 10 drugs, and they have the space surrounded. not only at the front gates, they are at all the perimeters. they are in the hills and around the base and we can see them in the tree lines. they have not loaded their weapons, very intimidating, a forceful presence, ayesesive stance to take at this space, and the commander, a small group came in early telling the commander to surrender. but for now, flooest, nobody is shooting at everyone.

everyone is at high, high readiness and the commander doesn't think he's getting any readiness. >> jennifer glasse joining us 30 minutes outside of simferepol. >> our next guest is a senior ukraine analyst, business and intelligence group. thank you for joining us this morning from london. given all that has transpired in the last 24 hours, is it safe to say we are entering unchartered territories. >> it is definitely looking quite intense and emotive language is suicide from both sides. it does appear that the situation escalated more than many expected. but i think that most of this is power positioning both by ukraine and russians, and the hope is as you mentioned earlier there could be a breakthrough

with the eight points that the ukrainian parliament calm up with. we have to find out what the eight points contain. they hope to find a more pragmatic approach to de-escalate the situation. >> you mentioned power positioning. n.a.t.o. countries meet to discuss the crisis if russia goes ahead with the invasion. what would that mean for allies sharing a border with russia. >> well, it's a big if. if it ever happens, i think - and we really have to go into detail as to what the invasion means, and how long scale the invasion will be, whether russia will overlook its economic interest. if it happens, then it will absolutely undermine russia's

global stance. it will undermine russia as a global player, a country that should be called upon a crisis. it would only mean that here is a country that created a crisis. the station are really high, i think, diplomatically and particularly economically for russia. >> speaking of diplomatically, president obama told putin to back off militarily. when it comes to economic channels, do they feel like putin can be trusted. >> well, i think it has been clear that the coalition government in kiev is supported by the western powers and the fact that nate scr is convening -- nato is convening sends a signal. communications, signals, statements, warnings, to tell

russia that they are not happy with the way things are developing and they are not really accepting the explanation that russia has offered. and the hope that it will prevent russia from taking a final step. if they tell russia with the way things are going, will it make the west look week. there are reports that it may be putin's aim. it's a speculation to say that putin is deliberately provoking west to venture into an action, military action. >> you don't think so, this is coming after president obama said you have to back down, and he's doing this literally the next day. you don't think this is provocation on the next part. >> no, i don't think it's provocation. i think putin is sticking to a line of argument that they had

from the beginning. that they have an obligation towards the military base. who was the ethnic russians, making the majority of the peninsula. they are simply security measures to put in place. they argue that they are within the parameters of military agreement. that is what they insist, and in some ways, indeed. they probably dismiss the pressure, but this is why - it's more of a power positioning. because for russia to immediately back down. if the u.s. demands so, would not look good. >> doesn't this raise questions of territorial integrity. russia said it was legal, but the lithuanian president says it shores up forwards of a russian

occupationment is that a fear unfounded. >> it's definitely looking as a violation to the sovereignty of ukraine. but crimea is arguing that the autonomous republic has a right to vote on certain issues. i don't think it's necessarily the case. when it comes to state borders and actions of another country. particularly military, manoeuvring within ukraine, this goes on central government level and not the crimea autonomous republic level. it's almost a grey area in the sense that russia is also exploiting the fact that it has military base in the region. and is trying to justify that. it has to do with the operations

of the military base. russia is entering - >> thank you for joining us. a senior analyst joining us from london. thank you for being with us. >> we'll follow the event as they unfold in ukraine, you can get the latest news online at aljazeera.com. >> police in china are looking for attackers who killed 29 people at a southern train station. more than 10 assail ants rampaged through the station with knives. besides the dead 143 more innocent people were injured and police killed four of the attackers and captured another. they are ethnic muslim separatists and the following report by al jazeera's rob mcbride is traffic. >> as police continue looking for anyone else, people in china have been coming to terms with the scale and horror of the assault. the gangs started attacking

passengerers. thousands of users expressed outrage on social media and uploading imills of security around the station in the aftermath of the attack. the authorities promised a swift response with the country's president ping saying those responsible will be brought to justice. the attack comes at a sensitive time in china in the run up to the national people's congrs gathering in budget. authorities have been quick to control information about the attack, restricting reporting of the event to the official version issued by the state-run newsagency. >> china state media says two of the attackers may have been women. >> rain is pounding southern california triggering a series of mudslides. it was higher than 8 inches expect in some of the mountain arse.

no injuries have been reported. the wet weather is expected to let up later today. damn is done. large pools of mud hampered travel for humans and animals. here you can see how deep the mud pool is. a deer, straying from its pack had to work hard. >> 100 car pull up in denver kills one woman and leaves 30 others injured. icy roads caused a tractor trailer to jock knife leading to a chain of collisions. many drivers on the freeway were travelling too fast for the snow which conditions. the highway was closed for five hours while this was clean up. >> the winter storm is moving east over st. louis. residents flooded supermarkets snatching up bread, milk and other basics. the storm was due to pass the area monday morning. the north-east is bracing for a snow storm, but all the snow

fall left the yeegon short of rock salt. many armed with snow shovels to fight the winter flurries. >> they don't have it. nobody in the area has it. >> all retailers is trying hard to get it. it's been depleted. you do your shavelling -- shovelling, put down the play sand and it helps from slipping on the walkway, the driveway. >> the winter storm can leave up to 10 inches of snow behind by the time that it passes. >> and meteorologist is here with the forecast. >> i'm tracking the storm, making for an early morning rise. the snow has been coming down into st. louis. we have a little rain and snow.

all snow before it's said and done. a number of winter storm warnings in place across missouri into parts of arkansas. the darker pink shaded areas, that's where we have ice storm warnings. we have western areas, where we are talking about half an inch of icing. power outages will be likely. it will get rough. >> in addition to that we are watching for the storms. this is an area where it's warm. we have the gulf of mefl coe moisture streaming. we can be dealing with isolated tornados, winds and hail. to the north-east the air is coal. we'll deal with snow mainly into the evening and overnight into some areas of the north-east. it will get as far as new jersey and the long island area.

most areas, 2-6 inches. we could see anywhere from eight to 10 inches of snow possibly more localized areas. the morning ride in can be a tricky one. things are quiet enough waiting to prepare for the snow. >> they become strangers in a strange land. thousands of children who fled the bloodshed becoming a harsh reality of what was supposed to be a safe haven. >> we have come to peru. people who can't afford it. we wanted to do something closer to home. >> taking some of america's vulnerable citizens off the street. >> live pictures from hollywood where the red carpet is out and nominations are in.

you are looking at pictures of kiev, the heart of the rapidly unfolding crisis. good morning, welcome back to al jazeera. i'm morgan radford live in new york city. next, a group trying to get the homeless off the street. first a look at the cold temperatures across the country with meteorologist. we are seeing temperatures at the hour well below zero. m minneapolis, minus 14. that is the air temperature. factor it in, and it feels like we are sitting at minus 24. it teels 10 degs colder. as we go through the day to day, we keep the cold air in place. temperatures below average. >> over in venezuela, students from calling for a mass protest in the capital of caracas today.

>> on saturday hundreds of anti-government demonstrators road to the prison where the opposition leader leopoldo lopez is held now. protesters held signs demanding that he be freed. 17 have died since the protests began. there's a large venezuelan community in miami. many are watching development in their homeland and trying to be supportive of friends and families. >> there has been 33 registered tortures. >> over the last three weeks andy and her mother spent sleepless hours monitoring facebook, instagram and twitter to stay in contact with family. >> there's no water, electricity, no way to inform anybody of what is happening, and the government did this on purpose. >> like many expatriots, they

rely on social media to get news out about what is happening in their native country. i don't think they knew what was happening. twitter is a life line for people. if i put it on twitter, it will get viral and everyone will see what is happening. they flood the act with video clips. so that the world can see the clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters who want to oust president nicolas maduro. look, nicolas maduro was elected president following the death of hugo chavez. it was a tight race. fairness was questioned by the united states. unless venezuela grab arms and learn to defend themselves, this will not end well. it turned deadly after activist was arrested two weeks ago. the government reports at least 17 protesters will die. several hundred have been

injured. >> venezuelans have been coming down. it's reached the point where they need do something, something needs to happen. >> there's 250 vnsans living in florida, more than anywhere else in the u.s. many lived here. many are concerned about what is happening in the homeland and they are trying their best to hurt out how they can. >> hundreds of patients are accommodating violence. we are asking for medicines to food, any type of medical supply. senator marco rubio and governor rick scott met with a large crowd and urged president obama to urge sanctions against venezuela. >> do what he has the power to do, freeze the assets.

>> in the meantime andy and sophia continue to rally peacefully on the internet and in the streets of miami, in solidarity with those at home. >> venezuelans in miami plan to hold a solidarity rally. the united nations condemned russia's military actions. the power russia has that could make it pointless. a humanitarian crisis getting more dire by the day. the mass exodus torn in two. >> things are about to get worse for prisoners in nepal. >> i'm mark morgan. the mda's global influence is persways vaisive. and the story of an american

5,000 miles from home in a hoops crazy country.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. things are developing quickly in ukraine. the nation's security chief has called up every last military reservist and comes a day after russia voted to deploy more soldiers to the country. the escalation has world leaders scrambling to find a diplomatic solution. we go live to moscow for the latest developments. what is the next move likely to be from the western nations. >> well, it's difficult to see what western powers might have in their diplomatic lockers. other than words, that they can use to check russia at the moment. we have had a flurry of phone

calls overnight. vladimir putin was a busy man. he spoke to barack obama and ban ki-moon, the secretary-general of the united nations, and he spoke to the french president francis hollande. now, bam ae had a 9 -- barack obama had a 90 minute conversation and it seems the only threat this came out of that from the u.s. side was that barack obama might not turn up to the g8 summit in sochi in russia in june. i can't see that that is going to have much of an effect on russia's potential course of action through this. russia's perspective has been the same and vladimir putin made the same points to each of the world leaders that he spoke to, that russia has the ability why to, if it comes to it, use russian military force to protect russian people in crimea, and russia's black sea

fleet. the big question is will he do that. what happens next, and that relies on vladimir putin. >> but, rory, is vladimir putin willing to risk international isolation in favour of escalating this conflict? >> well, i think maybe it's more important to look at how this plays domestically for vladimir putin because he is a very popular man here at the moment. the latest figures that i saw from an independent polling center basically puts him at 69% approval rating and that is an increase on what it was in january. he a riding high at the moment in the polls because of a successful olympic games. he has control of the media here, so essentially what the tv stations and tv stations are

putting out generally portrays the ukrainian situation as a western sponsored descent >> chaos. russia feels that there are many people in ukraine who are persecuted, russian people who are persecuted. there have been small-scale protests on the streets against a potential russian military involvement. we are talking 100 people or so at the protests and 40 or 50 of those were arrested. so it seems that the opposition to military involvement is small and putin has a large-scale support for any action that might be taken. >> we'll unfold the events, and, of course, you can get the latest online at aljazeera.com. >> now to the war in syria,

where thousands are in exile. many refugees have no other choice but to put the young children to work. we have this report from jordan where international aid agencies are trying to help the vulnerable families. >> this is the family's only breadwinner, working at a pastry shop, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. for the frail body the job is exhausting. the $200 is needed to pay the family's rent. pushed into the workforce means being pulled out of school. >> i was forced to work to help my parents. >> represent is expensive. if i don't help my parents, who is going to do that. >> both this boy's parents are ill. his mother knows the importance of schooling and making her son work is heart breaking.

>> translation: my heart breaks when he returns from work because he's in pain. his feet bleed from standing up. it makes me sad. >> another shop, where another syrian child is working. he is 13. he's working 12 hours a day. for less than half a minimum wage in jordan. he wishes he could go to school. the worst part about working is having the heavy sex and my boss screaming at me. >> the minimum working ag is 16. and the authorities have been hopeless on children. families have exhausted savings and are forced to make children work to pay for food and represent. that's why humanitarian agencies warned that they might end up

disengaged. >> international aid agencies are trying to help get the children out of work, back to school by providing cash assistance to the parents. there are few centres that deal with child labour. we would like to expand the centres in cooperation with social labor and those against child labour. funding is an issue. >> many syrian children in exile are living without the bare minimum. for those like mohammed and akmed going to school makes them feel like less than a burden. >> there are more than 1 million children forced to fully syria, many of whom don't have access to education. >> egypt's president has sworn in a new cabinet. there are six new minister, imclueding defence minister

abdul fatah al-sisi. he's expect to run for president this year. parliamentary elections are planned for the summer. >> chaos in the central african republic since rebels seized power. al jazeera's tania paige went to one town where muslim refugees are fleeing for their lives. >> they are cooking the last of their food from the last delivery of aid. this is a rev puj for hundreds of muslims. they are terrified of the anti-balaka. living in fear, without enough to eat, they listened for news of a way out. a convoy is spotted, deft yinned for cameroon. no one knows when the next will come. she decides to take her chances. no more muslim here, get out.

within moments, in a town where muslims and christians live happily together. the sport begins. this is not a game for people running for their lives. no one wants to be left behind. it may come down to this. so they surge at the track in desperation. once it's gop, the boy has been separated from his parents. anguish and fear are etched on his face. strangers help him find his way back. another chance, another cave of humanity. >> it is chaos as desperate families throw themselves, their children and whatever belongings they can hold on to on to the back of the truck. >> stripped of his home, the man refuses to reeling wish his belongings.

it's all he has left. he won't leave it behind. they restore order. they spot an anti-balaka fighter and take the anger out on him and their ineighty to stop what is happening. >> they were your brothers before. you have to let them go in peace. the old man is the last one. clinging to his meagre positions as a woman laughs at his humiliation. >> when the convoy is gone, the priest who sheltered the muslims is shell shacked. >> -- shell shocked. >> i don't know what will happen. i pray the lord will protect them. if i have a message, it is that the people along the road must help them, help them to get out. >> they are unknown muslims for them to shelter. the church doors are closed, the town purged of people, because

of their beliefs. >> 6,000 african union peacekeepers and 2,000 french soldiers are stationed in the central african republic. in thailand protesters scaled back but were defiant in their efforts. hun trends marked in -- hundreds marked in bangkok. yingluck shinawatra called for elections, but they were disrupted by mass rallies. several districts are holding a revote. >> prisons in nepal are overcrowded and falling apart. many inmates are held in cells built for animals. prisoners say upgrades by the authorities are taking too long. >> this may look like a holiday spot. those that live here never see the view. this is the district prison. the warden has a tough job - besides managing the prison, he

has to make sure the building doesn't fall apart. this is his office. >> this building was built as a stable. it was turned into a prison. this building is obvious 100 years old. >> most prisons are built between 1846 and 1951. maintenance is often ignored. >> look, the wood is rotting. >> like many of the prisons. this houses more people than it could manage. >> this is linked to 20 people. it houses more than 70 ipp mates. should the number increase, they might have to pitch tents outside to accommodate them. >> the inmates have to share the narrow arse for warmth. recreation is limited. the only way to make money is knitting. >> petty thieves to criminals share the space. as the dry season starts,

there's a new crisis. the drinking water has dried up. >> we have to buy tankers of water and manage in the government. >> last year prisoners had to manage with two months of water a day. >> we have written to the headquarters requesting them to rebuild the prison the the government is building prisons in staples. in 2008 a u.n. study said prisons needed to be upgraded. operators and the police say it's happening. for most of us inmates, it's taking too long. >> at least 74 prisons built since 1947 are faced with the problem of overcrowding. >> we heard about plays plaining in the state. how about when an american goes to europe. we are here with one man's story. >> we'll get to that in a second. n.b.a. new, lebron james in the headlines, he had to make a fashion adjustment of sorts

prior to saturday night's game. james suffered a broken nose so he donned a mask and didn't get the n.b.a.'s proefl. he warns it's a match. this was the look before the spich. i was all in. an ex-men's thing. i dug it. the league suggested he go to the clear mask. that was the switch. the new look hardly affecting the performance. he chipped in seven assists and four steals. don't look now, but miami has found its mojo. seven straight wins. 112 to 98 was the final. >> former commissioner was instrument am. lithuania, american justin detman invited matt rum si behind the scenes for a look at

his euro league lub and lithuania's love affair with hoops. >> america's justin dentman has a new job, offered a position in lithuania. he took a leap of faith and joined a basketball team as the only foreign player. >> nobody loves basketball like lithuania. in the space we love basketball, but this whole country focuses on basketball. >> there's a hoop outside almost every house. the desire to succeed at the american sport was linked with independence from the soviet union. at the barcelona olympics newly independent lithuania won a bronze medal. they now play in the euro league. >> founded in the 1940s, it's one of the oldest clubs. lith wania manages a ranking of fourth in the world.

an incredible performance considering this is a country with other 4 million people. you would be excused for thinking you were in the united states of america. this is the n.b.a. club. >> guys playing in other teams see this, they say, "this is unbelievable. i would love to play here." this is like a chill feeling. it's like it's put me in the n.b.a. setting. step on the team logo in the team locker room and players suffer a fine. dentmont has a lot of respect. not all the fans respect him. >> i get a lot of criticism outside. i get a lot of little hate mail "you don't belong here, you are not good enough." i built the relationship with a lot of guys. it's tough with loneliness, but basketball takes me to a place i have never been before.

>> lithuania is changing. fans will buy tickets with a new currency. they are sure to watch foreign players like dentmoment as lithuania punches above its weight in the arena of backt ball. >> prior to his signing dentmont played with the n.b.a. league and short stints with the mavericks, and spurs. >> one minute they were eating lunch, the next ducking for cover. >> that is the west coast pounded with storms. we'll show you where they are headed next. >> suddenly one day you are old. you don't know it the day before. but at 65 you are old. >> they may be getting older. they are making the most out of their golden years.

a new trend - seniors helping seniors.

>> people enjoying brunch at the moby dick restaurant - look at this cell phone video capturing the moment a giant wave slammed into the dining area. the man filming it noticed the wave getting higher and mentioned they'd likely shut the pier due to the surf. everyone is okay. >> good morning to you. welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live in new york city. up next, helping the homeless get out of that cold winter weather. first, let's get a look at the forecast with meteorologist eboni deon. >> i'm showing you a broad view

of what is going on in the satellite radar composite, the snow and freezing rain. things are winding down and quietening down. a bit of a break. the rain is very much needed. across the midwest it's all snow. coming down heavily at times. around chicago it's starting to push south of you. around gary we have a light snow. north-east snow really getting going. we have the frontal boundary on the move. aerial pressure along the front entering, more snow. freezing rain so we can be dealing with ice. quiet for now around d.c. and baltimore. by tonight into tomorrow we could be talking about eight, upwards of nearly a foot of snow. here is what we are dealing with, and the threat of severe storms. >> ever dream of monsters under

your bed. it could be a sign that all is not well with your head. a study is linking childhood nightmares to mental illness. kids that regularly suffer from nightterrors before they are 12 are more likely to suffer psychotic disorders. more than 6,000 students participated in the study. growing old can be anst lated experience. we are told how some seniors are banding together to help each other out. >> 65 is when everything changes and becomes - suddenly one day you are old. you didn't know it the day before, but at 65 you are old. >> susan came up with the idea of senior villages here in the beaconville neighbourhood. everyone needs a bit of help. and eventually maybe some of us will need a lot of help a lot of time >> why is it important that they

were involved in seniors helping seniors? >> we understand each other. all of us are a little afraid of being pandered to, dumbed down. i hate people that come and take my elbow and try to help me across the street because i have white hair. i want to say, "sonny, cut it out." >> 8,000 americans are turning 65. they need something to do to keep them off the streets. retirement can be a little boring. >> the working world essentially stops at 65. and you have 30 more years to go. >> helping other older seniors is a way to fill up the time. larry davis and dwight shank are making morning rounds. >> how are you? >> how are you. >> nice to meet you. >> today's task - bridging the snow tyres up from the basement and catching up with friends.

>> it's not often, but it's when we need it. that's when we call for help. >> bobby is retired. >> do you plan much. >> by the time we are in our 80s. we were beginning to need help. >> bobby is giving her husband cooking lessons, just in case. >> i never liked cooking. i'm not good at it. bobby takes special efforts to keep me learning how to cook. so if i'm alone or if she's in the hospital for a long time, a nursing home, i don't like the said of living alone. >> she won't be alone. for all the benefits there are draw backs. >> i was involved with a member on a whole variety of things. i was working with her on her computer, on her exercise machine, and sometimes we would just chat for a bit. i enjoyed her and she had a

sudden death. that hit me as hard as anything recently aside from my own family members. >> it's not part of the job description. >> it was not. i'm not sure if we should add that to it, but it's there. >> dwight says he has no regrets being part of her life, and this community and being able to help was worth it. >> now, we are bringing you a live look at the preparations for the 86th annual academy awards in los angeles. in a few short hours fans and stars will arrive at the theatre for hollywood's biggest night. ellen degeneris will be hosting the sare moanies. preparation for the ceremony has been underway despite the heavy rain in los angeles.

organizers put out tents, flowers will be in place. it will be lights, camera action for the fashion show. >> with another winter storm sweeping the country, hundreds of thousands will suffer on the streets. a small group of volunteers making a difference is in new york city. they are trying to get less of the unfortunate out of the cold. we have that story. >> maybe we can go to the bus station. >> patricia moonworks as a new york public defender during the day. this weekend she's a team leader working to defend the homeless from the elements. moonand her team are volunteers of the 6th annual don't walk by outreach. local nonprofit organizations enlist volunteers like patricia and her crew to get the homeless off the streets. their approach is as direct as a campaign mission statement. >> it's a game of talking to people, seeing what they need

and are looking for. if they want shelter, food, clothing... >> the team starts with training and orientation at a church and then they hit the streets, stopping by a bus station. >> it's a new york rescue mission and the barrier mission. the church on 120 street. people can go and have a meal. >> team members talk to several people, inviting a number back to the church. six accepted. >> once someone accepts an invitation they are brought back here to the host church where they are fed a hot meal and also given basic medical attention. >> including basic food and eye care by an optometrist who offered had services after having done similar outreaches overseas. >> we had gone to peru to help the people there, people who can't afford it. so we wanted to do something

closer to home. >> across the country in a winter that brought record cold, homeless organizations intensified their outreach. in philadelphia homeless shelters ask the public to help find people on the streets. in iowa, the main shelter had people in chairs, after all 150 beds filled up as the latest storm approached. back in new york, while everyone got a hot meal... >> we will give awe bed for the night. >> not all of those that came for eat stayed off the streets. for moonand her team it was a success. >> this is a great way to show love to people. it's cliched, but it's like, "i'm here for you, and talk to me and let me see, you know what, we can see for you." >> over the past month the volunteers helped close to 600

homeless people in new york, offering them a chance to get off the streets and out of the cold for a while. the department of housing and urban development ace there are more than 610,000 people across the united states on any given night. here is what we are following for you - russia is preparing for ukrainian intervention. china blames a separatist group for the deadly knife attack on a train station on saturday leaving 33 dead. egypt has its sixth new government since the ousting of president hosni mubarak and is bringing in new cabinet members today. snow and icy conditions make for dangerous conditions across the plain. i'm morgan radford and the al jazeera america morning news continues.

i'll be back with you in 2.5 minutes. right now we'll leave you with live pictures of kiev, independence square, in ukraine, where the hart of the protests are still unfolding.

>> the deepening divide in the ukraine. the u.s. tells russia to pull back its troops while ukrainian forces go on high alert. organised premeditated and violent. that's how chinese authorities describe a mass knife attack that kills dozens, injuring more. china says they know who is behind it. >> and fleeing for their lives,

muslims once welcomed in central african republic's city risk everything to escape the militias. >> the whole food effect. despite being a federal fun site people are flocking to a new york neighbourhood on the cusp of transformation. >> good morning to you and welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford in new york city. the center stage of ukraine's crisis moved from kiev to crimea. russia is preparing for the military intervention. ukraine started mobilising troops and is calling up every single military reservist. the country is on the brink of zaser. the situation raised alarm bells at the united nations where diplomats met for a special session on saturday. the u.n. is calling on the u.n.

n.a.t.o. is set to hold on emergency meeting. vladimir putin was asked to pull back the troops. jennifer glasse has that story from crimea. jubilation from the crimea capital. the russians are coming. moscow endorsed the use of force. ethnic majority took to the streets, sporting the russian flag. they are our protectors. there's no military clashes. they are here to guarantee the safety. beneath the statue russian and soviet military flags. crimea was part of rsha till 1964. also a new pro-russian moving to

take control. >> translation: i have decided to take control of all forces. military, navy, tax, boarder control. all commanders should take orders from me only. those that disagree, please resign. >> many of the tatar ancestors were deported by stalin in 1954. >> it's the first time in modern history that they have lived under these conditions. crimean society is filled with fear. people are afraid of everyone and everything. >> 400 miles north in the second city. pro-russian demonstrators drag supporters from city hall and raise the russian flag there. much of the population oppose the take over of the government. in kiev former opposition leader, presidential candidate appealed for calm. >> i urge everybody, no

provocation, calls for separatism, no anarchy. they are not formed in ukraine. all who love the country have to show their patriotism. at a military airport. a worrying sign of things to come. >> one mystery solved. the men in uniform took over airports. the crimean riot police, intelligence forces and some officers of russia's back sea fleet according to the deputy prime minister. >> jennifer glasse joins us on the phone. she's in the middle of an intense stand off of russian troops. regarding the standoff, what happiness at the meeting between the ukrainian commander and russian forces? >> they agreed to lower their levels of readiness. they agreed to calm down.

i'm outside of simferepol, it's a military base with a lot of ammunition, an armory and a lot of vehicles. the russians came in asking the commander to give everything up. he said, "no." a few hours ago 200, 250 forces surrounded the base. so the standoff was tense, the two commanders met and agreed to at least calm things down for now. and the russians agreed not to come into the base before now, but a sense of russians boots on the ground, rsha being forward moving coming to the base, saying this it wants to take it over. >> is there a sign that the ukrainian chief will back down. >> the commander is saying he won't back down. the forces will come into the base, that they will have to

fight. i'm not sure what is going on at the gate right now. >> you said there's... >> someone handed the ruban flag over to the gate, and this standoff shows the sentiment of the people here. there are russian flags by the civilians here. and they were right next to a church, and the priest came out to try to calm things down. he's been singing and praying outside the gates trying to make sure this doesn't escalate. the two commanders agreed to keep things on an even keel. >> president vladimir putin told president obama that the steps he is taking are to stablilize the region. judging from what you are seeing in the standoff, is there evidence to the contrary. >> what it does is heightens tension. 60% of people are ethnic russians and look towards moscow for guidance.

how far, you do have 40% ethnic ukrainians and tartars. some are calling this an occupation, so i think it will make the divide between people here more significant. >> all right. jennifer glasse joining us now. 30 minutes outside of crimea. thank you for being was. >> the united nations security council held emergency sessions and diplomatic editor james bays was there. >> how concerned are you at the situation. >> very, deeply. we need deescalation. >> ambassadors arriving for the second crisis meeting of the security council in 24 hours. >> is your country invading crimea. the ruban ambassador -- russian ambassador not ang my question, but -- answering my question but aware he'd fas criticism. >> cameras were finally allowed to film the meeting, despite

initial russian opposition. ukraine's ambassador appealed to the international community. >> we call upon the security council to do everything possible to stop aggression by ukraine. there's a chance. >> early this morning the russian duma acted to authorise the use of force in ukraine. this is dangerous and destabilising. this is deeply disturbed. >> of russian military intervention into crimea. this is without legal basis. >> russia's ambassador presented a different version of events. if i put the blame squarely on the e.u. for causing the crisis. why did this problem need to result in demonstrations. why is it that these street demonstrations need to be encouraged from abroad, by people from the e.u.

>> while the security council met, president obama called vladimir putin, a call, we are told that lasted 90 minutes. >> what is the message from the u.s. to vladimir putin right now. >> the message is pull back your forces. let us engage in political dialogue. engage with the ukrainian government. the ougs, the military presence in crimea is a violation of international law. >> the security council is deadlocked. this is a crisis in which russia is accused by other security council members of hostility. russia has a veto and can block action. >> the focus will move to brussels where n.a.t.o. and the e.u. will be meeting. >> >> the u.s. is suspending its

participation in this year's summit in sochi. >> the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine, william miller, tells al jazeera that he's worried that russia is ricking an all of out war. resort to arms, which the russians have undertaken. it's a pathetic solution to a very complicated problem. they should talk to each other, and sort things out and it's - it seems to me that the - the situation in ukraine demands the close working together of russia and the united states. to avert a kata trophic world war. >> violence erupts during a

standoff in carr active, the second -- kharkiv. dozens were injured after a pro-russian crowd attacked them. fights broke out when groups stormed the building and pro-russian protests were hold. >> richard young is a senior associate at carnegie europe. mr young, thank you for joining us. has the e.u. done enough to help ukraine? >> i think it needs to do a lot more. the difficult situation is the e.u. needs to do two things together. it needs to look at what it can do to help the government in kiev. it has become to define a package of economic support. the comprint from protesters is that the e.u. has been behind

events. the e.u. has begun to change up a gear. it needs to do more to meet the expectations of the ukrainian protesters. now at the same time it's a situation that is -- it needs to look at the leverage it has over russia. the government is going to do everything possible to avoid being dragged into an open conflict. there'll be talk of economic and financial measures that the e.u. may adopt against russia, particularly russian elite. the problem is that european governments have been divided on the way they approach russia, the degree of pressure they deem to be appropriate. with the situation so grey, the e.u. can't afford to be disunited. russia appears to hold the cards and the e.u. weak. one shouldn't forget that russia

needs the e.u. market far more than the e.u. needs russia. >> you mentioned the e.u. division. but at that point can it do anything to prevent ukraine from splitting up? >> i think in the short term probably now the e.u. is not going to be the major player. one would hope that cooler heads in moscow would realise that holding out and out occupation would be disastrous for russia. it wouldn't be like georgia in 2008. it would be more destabilising. turkey is likely to get involved. it's likely to trigger all kinth of stability within russia itself. if russia comes to the negotiating table, at that stage she can help ukraine design a political system that is more inclusive that is devolved powers, is fully democratic,

gives better respect for minority rights, linguistic rights and the government made a mistake in repealing the language law. here is where the e.u. can help over the longer term. in that sense the e.u. association agreement is what viktor yanukovych rejected, leading to his ousting. should the e.u. get the association agreement signed and offer membership? >> well, yes. i think the association agreement should be signed in a short period of time. some e.u. officials talk about the prospects of membership. some member states need to be convinced of that. they need to be careful that the agreement doesn't become a source of tension and gegs.

they need to use it to glue the state together. >> richard young, consider associate. the european center joining us. thank you so much. >> police in china are looking for some of the attackers who killed 29 people at a southern train station. a group ram paged through the station with knives. beside the dead 130 were injured. horrified bystanders and train riders tried to flee the rampage. >> translation: i saw many killed and a group carrying knives. then they ran away. >> stayed media says the attackers are ethnic muslim separatists from the country's west, two are believed to be women. >> 100 car pile-up in denver kills one woman and 30 others

injured. icy road and snow is blamed for causing a tract trailer to jack-knife. one witness said that many drivers on the freeway were travelling too fast and the highway was closed for five hours. rain pounded triggering a series of mudslides. rain fall was higher than the eight inches. the wet weather is expected to let up. experts say it's not enough to offset the severe drought. >> and snow is heading to the mid-atlantic in the north-east. let's bring in the meteorologist for the latest. we are watching a large storm. it's coming together with the cold front dropping southward. the mess primarily across the central u.s. we were talking storms.

the threat of freezing rain, snow and it's starting up here. you can see the front all boundary. it's into the midwest seeing the snow. take a look at the moisture. as it does, we'll see the snow piling up. here is a view of the radar. chicago - we have the snow. it shifted further south. let's show you what it looks like. the snow has come to an end. it will be cloudy and cold with temperatures in the single digits early on, feeling like we are sitting 10 degrees below zero. bundle up. snow that falls coming across st. louis. this morning not only are we dealing with the snow, there's also claps of thunder. we have a mixed bag. there's a pink shaded area. that's where we'll see the ice

accumulating. we have a quarter to half an inch of ice. we'll up it to three quafrters of an inch. friezing rain pressing south wards. north and west of jackson. you need to be extra careful. temperatures starting to fall, freezing rain and freezes on the surface. really seeing conditions downhill. further south where the air is mild into this evening. temperatures falling into the north-east. mainly going to be overnight into monday. the areas could see 8-10 inches. 2-of around new york city. >> morgan, we'll bebundled up. >> thank you so much. twin blasts approve deadly in nigeria. 50 killed, many children, according to the red cross. we have the latest. a look at egypt's newest

cabinet. and why some ministers might look a little familiar. plus... >> it is chaos. desperate families throw themselves, their children on to the back of the trucks. >> muslims are fleeing the capital of the central african republic.

>> good morning to you. welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. a country torn between two states. but first meteorologist eboni deon. >> it's turning colder. 30 degrees colder than yesterday in texas. to the south it is mild. 64 right now in memphis. warmer than the average high. we are at 70 degrees in houston. as we look at some of the warm air, it's the warm moist

conditions, setting the stage for strong storms as we go through the day. houston, 70 degrees, 62 degrees in jackson and we see the mild conditions in place. heading to the north-east, 20s and 30s. it will be cold and through the week ahead we'll keep the cold temperatures in place. >> in nigeria the red cross is reporting 50 people are dead after a twin car bomb exploded. the attack took place in the eastern part of the country, an area home to boko haram. it killed many women and children, some of whom were attending a wedding party. it threatens to destabilize the country. >> egypt has its sixth cabinet since ousting hosni mubarak. it has 20 ministers from the old

government, including filed marshal abdul fatah al-sisi. he's expected to run for president this year, replacing mohamed morsi. >> chaos in the central african republic since rebels seized power. peacekeepers are in place protecting muslims who have been attacked. tania page went to one town where muslim refugees are fleeing for their lives. >> they are cooking the last of the food from the last aid. the church is home to hundreds of muslims. living in fear and without enough to eat, they listen for news of a way out. a convoy is spotted, destined to cameroon. she decides to grab what she can and take her chances. she is not welcome here.

no more muslims here, get out. in a town where muslims and christians live, the sport begins. >> this is not a game for people running for their lives. no one wants to be left behind. it may come down to this. so they surge at the truck in discretion. once it's gone a boy has been separated from his parents. anguish and fear are etched on his face. strangers help them find their way back. another chaps, another wave of humanity. >> it is absolute chaos as desperate families throw themselves, their children and whatever belongings they can hold on to on to the back of the truck. stripped of his home and dignity. the man refuses to reliling wish

his belongings. it's all he has left. african union peacekeepers try to restore order. they spot a fighter in the crowd and take out their anger on him. >> translation: don't touch them. it's their wish. they want to leave. they were your brothers before. you were with them. you have to let them go in peace. >> the old man is the last one. clinging to his meagre possessions as a woman laughs at his humiliations. >> when the convoy has gone. the priest is shell shocked. >> i pray the lord to protect them. i accompany them. >> people along the road must help them to get out. >> there are unknown muslims here. the church doors must close.

the town is purged of people. >> 6,000 african union peace keepers. documents from the white house released to the public. could they help or hurt. we talk about that >> i'm mark morgan. the elite teams does something not accomplished in a

>> good morning, welcome back, you are watching al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. >> hundreds of gun men have

surrounded a base blocking thousands from leaving. russia appears to be preparing for a military intervention. more than 10 attackers armed with knifes and dressed in black stabbed 29 people to death in a strain station. police killed four of the assail ants. another was arrested and they are searching for others. in nigeria 21 dead after a car bomb attack, in a place home to boko haram. men killed were women and children taped -- attending a wedding party. >> wendy davis became a household name when she filla bustered on abortion rates.

>> democrats senator wendy davis staged an 11th hour filibuster to protect abortion acts. >> you all have inspired every member in the senate democratic caucus. riding the momentum davis threw her hat into the ring to become texas governor. >> i'm proud to announce my candidacy to be the 4th governor. >> she has gotten attention nationwide. 47% of funds came from outside of texas, compared to abbott's 2%. political strategists say it may not be enough. cal is a political scientist and explanation the democratic hopes of turning the state purple is wishful thinking. >> the problem that she has is that texas is a conservative state, even if you think it's

headed towards a competitive, democratic state. >> running on a personal story of struggle davis advocates for improved policies. >> by the time i was 18 i was op my way to divorce living in a trailer. >> davis's hard luck biography has been shown to be false, saying she didn't divorce until 21. >> wendy davis changed on a lot of issues. the davis campaign hit back. ted nugent called president obama among monning rel and admitting to having sex with underaged girls.

davis's 11 million can't compete. abbott continues to beat davis in the polls. a poll from the university of texas, and the texas tribunal puts abat ahead of davis. greg abbott will beat davis. over the last 20 years competitive democrats lost by 12-16 points. when i said davis was likely to lose, she's running more compete tyly. >> all of you diswerfe to have -- deserve to have your voices heard. >> they appreciate an opponent in a state that hasn't elected a democrat as governor since ann richard in 1990. >> voter id laws will be put to the test. the first will be in the upcoming race in texas. the rules take effect in nine other states.

supporters say the laws are designed to distrim nad. joining us now is democratic strategist jones in washington d.c. and tom dorty, former advisor george pataki. good morning. let's jump into it. hillary clinton - documents from the clinton white house were made public and we had ipp sight into hillary's stormy relationship with the press core. as thee gears up, how real can she be, and not someone that hates the press. >> first of all, hillary clinton will be the strongest candidate that the democrats have. there's more ink written about hillary clinton than any other political figure. i don't think the documents will be released are going to matter.

take rand paul. he's looking backwards, he's bringing up monica lewins key as an attack on hilary clinton. he's dredging that up. people don't want to hear about them, but want to hear about now. that's where hillary will have her issue. she needs to come up with what she's for and now, not things like in the past. it was rand paul looking back to monica lewinski. what must she do. what would she have to do to convince you? >> dade is right bringing up those issues are not what the campaign is about. people have made their decision. i think what this election for her will be about is where is obama come 2016. i mean, right now he is upside

down, 40, 51. people think the country is a 2-1 number in the wrong direction. i found it ironic that come 2016 she may run with president obama's legacy or as far away as possible. that's the best hope the republicans have, that the president right now is upside down. >> you talk about looking back. in 2008 hillary was seen as the favourite to win the nomination, then was the iowa caucuses and the young barack obama. what are some of the painful lessons? >> she didn't pay attention to the caucus state. if she held on to the kauk cause state. they went big and lost out on caucus state that she would have won. if she did that - if she pays attention to all 50 states,

taking nothing for granted. >> david, do you think she didn't pay attention to the caucus state? >> i was in a caucus in iowa. it was a disaster. she was outorganised bit the barack obama forces and she will not let that happen again. the campaign manager came out. nothing could help it. she was demolished. the advantage goes to the most organised person that can target the voters. obama was that person. this will be not about president obama, but hillary clinton. everything she did for the country, she's an historical figure. she's on par with others in history. i want to switch gears and look to the aisle. on monday jeb bush addresses the mum's comment that if they can't

find more than two or three, that's an issue. jeb said "i get the point" if i run i have to overcome that, and so will hillary, let's keep the same standards. are americans getting fatigued by having the same two families in the white house. >> america wants people that they like, that they agree with and regardless of what their name is, i have to tell you an interesting campaign is bush against clinton. both of them, whether you like or disagree with them. they are intelligent global thinkers. when it comes to education, jeb bush is the guy, the role model, what the republican party should look at. >> we have a lot of intelligent thinkers. you don't think americans should be fatigued. >> let me tell you, it would be great for you guys, for the

reporters, the media. there would be a lot to write about. >> i'll take the fight any time. >> the last clinton that was in the whitehouse wound up his administration with a budget surplus. when the next bush took over, he lan the economy into the ground. i'll take the past bush or the current bush and ploint any day of the week. >> do you think that bill clinton's legacy could help tore hurt her. >> he is a rock star. he is one that will get a standing ovation. we all like bill clinton. the question is in the heat of the campaign we'll talk about a lot of stuff, it's a huge - he'll raise a lot of money. there's no question about that. i want to look at the g.o.p.

let's look at the poll results. a poll out last week put jeb bush at the top of the race. given chris christy's trouble. do you think jeb bush is the only case. i think governor penn out of indiana - i'm not going to write-off governor christy. he's going through trouble. it's too early. again, the party i think that if you look at the states that you need to win, florida first and foremost. jeb bush is loved. it's an interesting race if it was jeb bush versus hillary clinton. choices are very, narrow. i think you have something else to say on bill clinton, and i want to make sure we get back to that. bill clinton is one of the most popular political figures of our time. >> hillary clinton is one of the

most respected women in the world. jeb bush is ahead in the polls. that's the name people know. the only reason jeb bush is ahead. when he talks about policies. there's a war. jeb bush will be a victim. when jeb and the tea party go out with him. he'll be in big trouble. >> in the party, there's a war. the tea party versus mainstream republicans. when it comes to the next election will it be a thorn that the side. it was pretty much subdued compared to years past. is the tea party losing it's sting. who knows what david said. the fear in its heart. it's fear that it is going to get jeb bush.

it shows you that the jebs and the more moderate wing of my party, we will find a lot about the tea party this year in senate races. we are not having a lot of success against the john corner et cetera. how did things go down. i think we'll find a lot about. but in the end we nominate the long 25 debate caucuses and debates in primaries. david and tom, we are looking ahead to the caucuses. >> thank you gentlemen. >> good morning everyone, it may have started as a novelty idea,

but i think it turned out to be a great thing, the way many purists think it's meant to be play, the way generations of canadians started playing out doors. this time in chicago, and soldier field was the site. check out the weather. 62,000 fans bundling up. 70 degrees. patrick sharp put them on the board. chicago's jonathan tave said it was like they were playing hockey in the backyard. they felt a little more because they routed pittsburg. >> this is where they go play pick-up shimmy. the stage couldn't have been better for anyone.

it's how hard it was snowing off the bat. it's amazing conditions. everyone felt they were going outside. >> let's talk college hoops where wich tar state proved that last year was not an aberration. they take op missouri. this one not close, spripting to an 18-4 part-time lead. 5 is%, cruising to a 68-45 win. the first regular season since st. joes turned the trick in 2004. >> the only thing left to do is win it. we need to win it. that's the challenge that this team has now. anything short of that will be a disappointment. we have a 3-game set. you have to win first one, get to the second one. but where we are now, 31 is

good, 34 is better. >> number one florida looking good right now. the gaiters ripped lsu. scoring as a team, including 13, 3s. 79-61 was the final. florida winning 31 in a row. making it to the elite a and will be a tough out. oklahoma state is fighting for an n.c.a.a. tournament bid. the cowboys 3 and 0. oklahoma state upset kansas with smart scoring 20 of 21 points in the second half. the impost overcame a 10-point deficit, shooting 64% from the field, 72-65, osu the final. virginia is a surprise team in college basketball. the cavaliers beating sarah cues, outscoring the orange. the cavs celebrating in charles

otsville. virnal your beet sarah cues. first out right regular title in 33 years. meantime the orange dropped three of the last four. finally temperatures flaring in the english premier league , the manager of newcastle united, alan pardew, there you saw it head-butted hull city mid-fielder david meyler. alan pardew was ejected and newcastle united fining him 100,000 pound. the premier league likely to hand down a fine and suspension as well. >> that's a look at sports this morning. >> anti-government demonstrations continue in venezuela. the focus is on alleged human rights abuses during previous protests. the changing look of one neighbourhood that may have something to do with a grocery store opening up shop. been

>> good morning, welcome back to al jazeera america. just ahead a super fund site gets a makeover because of a new neighbour. first a look at the forecast with meteorologist eboni deon. >> we are finally going to see the rain wrapping up across the south-west. the next storm moving in, heading north. parts of the north-west staying active in the valley. here across the midwest i've been watching the frontal boundary back to the southern plainsment snow is moving out of the chicago. the snow is falling. sleet and snow earlier on. across the deep south quiet for now. we are watching the area closely for strong to severe storms. in thailand protesters scale back but are defiant in an other to oust the prime minister. hundreds vow to topple, calming

for elections last month. they were toppled >> mainly. violence is surging in venezuela as anti-government protesters stormed the street demanding that the president resign. 17 people have died in violence during a month of protests. paul beban has that story from caracas. >> this is how things looked about two weeks ago in venezuela. peaceful protests as people took to the streets, shortages of food and consumer goods and soaring crime. shelves are bear, stores are full. inflation is running, it's 66% and growing. prices are sky rocketing. there's shortages and crime rate out of control. homicide rate is out of control.

it increased 400% in the past 15 years. somewhere around 18 teems the homicide rate in the united states. >> when the students called for his ouster, nicolas maduro cracked down cranking up the tension and the violence. it's a mess. what the economy was, the protests about government repress. nicolas maduro accused the united states of destabilising the count rip. almost the same line taken by the predecessor. he campaigned against the united states. against george bush, against condoleezza rice, me personally, and the empire. >> charms sapiro was ambassador.

in 2002 chaff es was ousted in a failed coup. the u.s. had nothing to do with it. >> we didn't organise or plan it. we weren't behind it. if we were guilty of anything, it was being foo happy, too fast. it was obvious the direction the government was headed. where chavez could rally. chapero lacks support and charisma. he won the election by over 1%. he lost support so quickly it's amazing. through his non-personality, his lack of personality. >> in spite of the political description, oil found the two countries together. venezuela sits on the reserves and much of its outputs are processed in the u.s. the link is weaker. they are producing and selling

less. in a way the situation shifted. so that it's almost as if venezuela needs the markets. so far the u.s. line seems to be watch and wait as both countries kick out as diplomats. >> just how long this confrontation between calls for reform and brute force will last is anyone's guest. it's playing out on the streets. >> for the first time in 20 years a gay rights group could be part of boston st. paddy's day parade. only if there's no references to sexual orientation. the group will sign off if it can march openly. the group will march only because the mayor threatened a buoy pot.

the new mayor and council are boycotting the parade. >> from local produce is known for adapting to the communities. some say it has a negative effect. a brooklyn community is offsetting the trend. erica pittsy explains -- erica pitzi explains. >> it's an oddlocation for an upscale grocery store. whole foods opened up along the banks. brooklyn's canal. the canal has been designated the federal clean up site. the project along with the presence is sure to raise the profile of the area. there is concern about what that could mean for the community. unfortunately a trend towards what happened in williamsburg residential speculators and then

we end up with a low rise and hoe rise residential neighbourhood. it has been coined the whole-food effect. it has been known of setting up shops on the cusp of developments. it denies it, but it said the joke is we could have made more money buying up real estate and developing it than we could make selling groceries. >> the head of a neighbourhood coalition of artists says she doesn't want to see people priced out of homes and studios. >> artists moved because it's affordable and we have big spaces to make the art in. seeing a lot of big investment in here can make us nervous about what is happening to our own work spaces. >> the based property agents says there's much more to gain from residential do. . >> there are so many jobs

created in brooklyn because of the development and the changes in the neighbourhood. >> now some members are coming together with a plan. it calls on the new administration of the mayor bill de blasio to help protect manufacturing, and art studios. >> we are not following a pattern of development, gentry fibbingation and rising prices, but what makes it special, what we want to keep and what we want the future to look like. >> a goal to preserve the areas legacy and charm in the face of rising demand for development. >> another whole food store is welcomed with open arms in detroit, where they hope it will attract investment to the depressed economy. >> check it out - crowds filling the streets of rheanning ready

for carnivale. organizers estimate that they are dancing along the streets. it marks the beginning of the season on the christian calendar. >> a live look at preparations for of 86th academy awards. fans and celebrities will arriving at the dowl by theatre. "america hustle", "gravity," and "12 years a slave" are the favourites. that's it for this addition of al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. stay with us for more news in 2 minutes. don't go anywhere.

>> good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. here are the stories we are follow. hundreds of gun many surrounded a base blocking soldiers from leaving.

it's part of a crisis where russia is preparing to a military intervention. the ukraine calling on every one of the military servists to mobilise. the fallout has begun. three countries have opted out. overin nigeria two separate attacks. twin car bombs exploded in a marketplace killing 50 people. the attack was followed by 40 miles away where gunmen raided a village and shot people preparing for praise. both took place in the north-east of the country. home to boko haram. >> 10 attackers armed with knives and dressed in black stabbed 29 to death. police killed four and they are searching for others. one has been arrested.

>> the sixth cabinet in egypt since the ousting of hosni mubarak. >> those are the headlines, i'm morgan radford "killing the messenger - the deadly cost of news" up next. >> [gunshot]. >> there's a lot of very brave